Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Serco

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many current contracts his Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that the scoring mechanism for the procurement and wider decisions on HS2 rolling stock reflects the need for the benefits of investment to be spread throughout the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The procurement of the new HS2 fleet is being undertaken in accordance with the Utilities Contract Regulations 2016 which require all tenderers to be treated equally on a non-discriminatory basis. This means that HS2 cannot mandate that the design and manufacture of the new fleet should be undertaken in the UK and neither can it reward, in its procurement scoring mechanism, UK wide or regional content over non-UK content. However, the procurement scoring mechanism will include an assessment of Tenderer’s plans for developing skills, education and employment opportunities and promoting supply chain opportunities through the supply and maintenance of the new trains. HS2 Ltd can contract any commitments made by bidders. Tenderers will also be required to submit a Legacy Statement in which they are to identify how their proposal will add value to the UK economy and contribute to the delivery of HS2’s Programme Benefits. This will not be evaluated as part of the bid and is therefore not subject to the procurement scoring mechanism, but HS2 Ltd can contract elements of the Legacy Statement.

Railways: Research

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of the adequacy of the funding the Office for Rail and Road has agreed with Network Rail for rail research and development in Control Period 6 from 2019 to 2024.

Joseph Johnson: The Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) Draft Determination for Control Period 6 represents the ORR’s draft conclusions, rather than its final position. The ORR is consulting stakeholders on the Draft Determination until the end of August. The Government will fully set out its position in respect of the Draft Determination for England and Wales at that point.

Tilbury Port: Lower Thames Crossing

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the construction of a link road from the expanding Tilbury Port to the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.

Jesse Norman: The Lower Thames Crossing project is at an early stage of its development and the design will continue to evolve as it progresses towards a Development Consent Order (DCO) submission. No decision has been made on the case, or otherwise, for a new link to the port of Tilbury. A link from the crossing to Tilbury port was not included in the April 2017 preferred route announcement and has not been considered formally by Ministers. There will be an opportunity for people and businesses to influence Highways England’s design of the scheme through a second public consultation, expected later this year. A final decision on the scope to be included in the DCO will be taken in 2019.

Travel: Carers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to seek funding from the Treasury for public travel passes to be issued to family carers; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We are working with the sector to encourage operators to continue to improve their concessionary travel offers. Local authorities have the power to offer additional local concessions and are best placed to make decisions that more closely match their needs and circumstances.

Greenways Project

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps with local authorities to provide more funding for greenways to encourage more people to cycle; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017, outlines £1.2 billion of funding that may be invested in cycling and walking in England over the period to 2021. Since the Strategy’s publication, the Government has made further support available for cycling and walking infrastructure in England, through the National Productivity Investment Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund, Transforming Cities Fund and Clean Air Fund. Decisions on allocating funding for greenways and dedicated cycle networks are for local authorities, who allocate and/or bid for funding alongside other local priorities. In addition, the Department for Transport is providing 44 local authorities in England with access to expert support to assist in the development of ten-year Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans. This support will enable authorities to map their future cycle networks and to prioritise future investments. Funding for infrastructure projects and local plans to support higher levels of cycling and walking in the rest of the UK is a matter for the devolved administrations.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Euston Station

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the revised total volume in millions of cubic metres of spoil that will need to be removed from the Euston HS2 station and approach as a result of recent revisions to the plans for the HS2 throat and HS2 station design at Euston station.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Ltd are currently undertaking design and construction planning to identify and confirm volumes of excavated material that will be removed at Euston station. Current estimates are for some 1.1 million m3 to be removed from the Euston HS2 station (Stage A) and Euston approach. HS2 Ltd continue to develop the design to reduce the amount of excavated material that needs to leave the site.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the maximum percentage of spoil from the HS2 development that could be transported by rail if Network Rail allows up to seven spoil train pathways per day.

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the percentage and volume in millions of cubic metres of spoil from the HS2 development that will need to be transported across Camden by HGV lorries as a result of recent revisions to the plans for the HS2 throat and HS2 station design at Euston station.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Ltd are currently undertaking design and construction planning to identify and confirm volumes of excavated material that will be removed by rail and road from Euston station. Details are expected at the end of 2018.

Department for Transport: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of staff in his Department that commute to work by train.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We are unable to provide the requested information because we do not record the method of transport Civil Servants use to commute to work within the Department for Transport and its respective Agencies.

Great Western Railway: Standards

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cancellations GWR has made in the last six months for which figures are available; and for how many of those cancellations the reason cited was driver unavailability.

Joseph Johnson: The latest figures published by the ORR for cancellations for the last 7 periods, can be found on the ORR website with the number of cancellations and separately the number of trains planned: http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/65f0615f-ba00-40cd-a7d3-daec5d7a11db http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/cc1348a8-e646-4088-aafa-564928d8589b In regards to the second point raised, the Department does not hold that level of detail.

Road Traffic: Bristol

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the increase in traffic in Bristol that will result from the removal of the Severn Bridge tolls.

Jesse Norman: Following the Government announcement on 21 July 2017 to abolish tolls by the end of 2018 the Government has not undertaken any further modelling on the impact of abolishing the current tolls on traffic volumes in Bristol. Previous modelling work was undertaken on the impact of removing tolls compared to the 2014 toll level, rather than comparing specifically with toll levels either when the decision to abolish tolls was made or at the end of the concession period. That modelling also covers a different time period to the option being delivered and so there will be differences from actual impacts. That modelling did show that there would be an increase in traffic as a result of abolishing the tolls and that this would result in approximately 16,000 extra trips per day either into or out of Bristol in 2022. This is equivalent to 8,000 two-way journeys per day. Highways England are conducting modelling work to look at the impacts of moving from the current level of tolls to no tolls at the end of the year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Petrol: Prices

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the cost of petrol for consumers.

Claire Perry: The Department monitors the prices of crude oil and retail road fuels and publishes weekly reports athttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/oil-and-petroleum-products-weekly-statistics.The Department’s analysis indicates that changes in the price of crude oil are the main driver of changes in the national average retail prices of petrol and diesel.The Government believes that it is essential that consumers get a fair deal and that a competitive market is the best way to keep prices low. The Office of Fair Trading last looked at this in 2013, and I expect its successor, the Competition and Markets Authority, to keep this under review.

Electricity

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that demand for electricity in the UK does not outstrip supply in the next six months of 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Capacity Market (CM) is at the heart of the Government’s plans for a reliable electricity system, and through CM auctions that have already been held we have secured all the capacity needed to meet expected demand on the system in 2018/19.National Grid’s Summer Outlook 2018, published in April, confirmed electricity supplies are expected to be sufficient to meet demand this Summer while its 2018 Winter Review and Consultation 2018, published in June, states that electricity margins for the coming Winter are expected to be in line with the healthy margin of 10.3% we had for Winter 2017/18.

Motor Vehicles: Standards

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the pan-European DRIVES project, what steps he is taking with his EU counterparts to ensure that UK automotive engineering standards remain aligned with those in other parts of Europe after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: The UK automotive industry is one of our great success stories and global demand for UK designed, engineered and manufactured vehicles is strong. My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister has confirmed we are seeking a UK-EU free trade area underpinned by a common rule book for industrial goods and a new business-friendly customs model that avoids friction at the border. Through the Automotive Industrial Partnership (AIP), working with Government, UK industry is leading the development of qualifications and programmes to upskill existing and future workforce, as well as supporting progression and talent retention. The AIP will take responsibility for, and to transform, the end-to-end skills system, enabling automotive employers to attract and develop the current and future skilled workforce that the sector needs to compete globally.

Energy: Meters

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2018 to Question 146730 on energy: meters, whether his Department expects the Data and Communications Company to consult on the development of the solution to move SMETS1 meters onto the national communications infrastructure to enable consumers to retain their smart services upon switching; and whether that solution will be reported to Parliament when it is finalised.

Claire Perry: Both the Government and the Data and Communications Company (DCC) have consulted extensively on the enrolment and adoption of SMETS1 meters.Government consultations are available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/enrolment-of-smets1-meter-cohorts-with-the-data-communications-company; https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/maximising-interoperability-for-first-generation-smets1-smart-meters.DCC enrolment and adoption consultations are available online here: https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/about-dcc/future-service-development/enrolment-and-adoption. The Government has committed to producing an annual report on the smart meter roll-out and, upon publication, will place the 2018 copy in the Libraries of the House. This will include progress towards moving SMETS1 meters into the national communications infrastructure to enable consumers to retain their smart services upon switching.

Business Travel: EU Countries

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the extent to which (a) increased (i) levels of administration and (ii) costs will be incurred and (b) visas will be required to undertake business travel between the UK and the EU after the UK has left the EU.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government continues to undertake a comprehensive programme of analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. The Government has confirmed that when we bring forward the vote on the final deal, we will ensure that Parliament is presented with the appropriate analysis to make an informed decision. The Government has been clear that free movement will end as we leave the EU. We will seek to negotiate an appropriate labour mobility framework with the EU to ensure UK nationals can continue to travel to the EU for business purposes, and vice versa.

Research: EU Action

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether UK (a) companies and (b) institutions will be able to participate in EU research and development projects after 2020.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As part of our future partnership with the EU, the UK will look to establish an ambitious future agreement on science and innovation that ensures the valuable research links between us continue to grow. The UK would like to participate in EU research and development projects after 2020 and would like the option to fully associate to the excellence-based European research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe (the successor to Horizon 2020) and Euratom Research and Training. Such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution linked to a suitable level of influence in line with the contribution and benefits the UK brings. The UK looks forward to discussing the detail of any future UK participation with the European Commission.

Business: Regulation

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether businesses will be charged for the cost of the creation of new regulatory agencies in the UK after the UK has left the EU.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government is undertaking a wide range of preparatory work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU. This includes looking at functions presently undertaken by EU agencies. The Government’s priority is to have effective regulatory systems. Should an EU regulatory function be repatriated then in most cases this will be undertaken by an existing, rather than a new, public body. Prior to any decisions on establishing a new public body, the Government will always examine how it might be funded in a way that meets the standards set out in ‘Managing Public Money’ for financial transparency, accountability and oversight as well as value for money for the taxpayer. Funding is considered on a case by case basis and fees and charges can only be levied where Parliament has agreed legislation permitting the funding of new bodies in this way. We will continue to engage with businesses as we develop our approach.

Borders: Industrial Health and Safety

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for new health and safety-related inspections at the UK-EU border after the UK has left the EU; and what estimate he has made of any potential additional time goods will spend at those borders.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government takes the issue of consumer product safety extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that only safe products are placed on the UK market now and in the future.The Government is preparing for the UK to make an orderly and successful exit from the European Union. BEIS is working with the Department for Exiting the European Union and other Departments to make sure that the preparations for exit from, and new partnership with, the EU are on track.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Serco

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many current contracts his Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.

Richard Harrington: Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to introduce a replacement for the Renewable Heat Incentive for when it ends in March 2021.

Claire Perry: Funding for the Renewable Heat Incentive has been agreed out to 2021. Beyond this we intend to design and implement a clear framework through to the 2030s for domestic and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid, to:o Reduce barriers to take-up of clean heating and cooling with reduced reliance on subsidy;o Sustain a viable supply chain for clean heating beyond the RHI whilst not closing off options on the longer-term decarbonisation pathway. From 19 March to 11 June we held a public Call for Evidence as a first step in developing this policy framework. The Department is now analysing the evidence received in response to this document and aims to publish a response to the Call for Evidence later in 2018.

Carbon Budgets

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he will put in place to fill the policy gap identified by the Committee on Climate Change in meeting the fourth and fifth carbon budgets.

Claire Perry: The Government’s policies and proposals for meeting the fourth and fifth carbon budgets are set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017. The Government agrees with the Committee on Climate Change that ambitious and rapid implementation of the policies and proposals in the Strategy is needed to ensure we meet our carbon budgets, and we will consider carefully the recent recommendations made by the Committee.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Finance

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent requests for funding his Department has received from the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Richard Harrington: BEIS-funded projects the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has been working on over the last twelve months are: UK State System of Accountancy for and Control of nuclear materials £1,203,000Advanced Nuclear Technologies £936,000 These are referenced in Note 4 to the Financial Statements (page 144 of the published Office for Nuclear Regulation Annual Report and Accounts 2017-18 refers) http://www.onr.org.uk/documents/2018/onr-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-18.pdf Each activity is paid for by BEIS according to the demand placed upon ONR’s resource and each is charged for in accordance with ONR’s charging methodology. http://communities/gf2.ti/f/12834/1205253.1/PDF/-/howwechargefornuclearregulationweb.pdf

Energy: Conservation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to (a) mandate or (b) encourage an increase in the energy efficiency of electricity consuming products after the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: The energy efficiency of energy-related products, including electricity consuming products, is currently regulated under the EU Ecodesign Directive and Energy Labelling Framework Regulation. In the Clean Growth Strategy (p.44), we set out that following EU Exit, the UK “will keep step with equivalent standards wherever possible and appropriate, or even exceed them where it is in the UK’s interest to do so. This may include products not yet covered by European legislation, such as smart appliances”. The potential to do this is subject to the outcome of the wider EU Exit negotiations.

Timesharing: Regulation

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 136940 on Timesharing, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the provisions for people who entered into timeshare contracts before the new regulations came into force.

Andrew Griffiths: We have not made such an assessment, however we recognise that before the introduction of the Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Regulations 2011, UK consumer’s received consumer protections under the Timeshare Act 1992. The previous regulations did not include provisions to protect consumers from the apparently perpetual nature of some timeshare contracts. The new regime provides improved protections for consumers buying and selling timeshares and other long-term “holiday club” memberships including provision for consumers to withdraw from the contract. At the time of implementing the 2011 Regulations an impact assessment was undertaken.

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the encouragement of retail investment in town centres.

Andrew Griffiths: BEIS ministers, including my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State, hold meetings with representatives from the retail sector on a regular basis, including a roundtable with retailers in June. I co-chair the Retail Sector Council which comprises both high street and online retailers. In order to ensure effective engagement across government on town centres, My hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, whose department is responsible for High Street policy, attended the June Sector Council meeting.

Energy: Meters

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of energy smart meters that are operating in dumb mode.

Claire Perry: It is estimated there are currently around 637,000 smart meters being operated by the 14 large suppliers in ‘traditional’ mode. There were more than 11 million smart and advanced meters operating in Great Britain in ‘smart mode’ as at the end of March 2018. The Data and Communications Company (DCC) will move SMETS1 meters into its national system, starting later this year, so that all consumers can keep their smart services when they switch energy supplier, regardless of which generation of meter they have installed.

Energy: Billing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether an energy company has the right to pursue court enforcement action on an estimated fuel bill.

Claire Perry: Energy supply companies can take enforcement action to recover charges on the basis of estimated consumption. Ofgem Licence Conditions however, require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to obtain a meter reading at least once a year and customers can provide a meter reading to correct an estimate. Ofgem Supply Licence Conditions also require companies to take all necessary steps before exercising any action to recover debts. Customers can raise a complaint with their supplier if the charges are disputed and take this complaint to the Ombudsman Service: Energy, should it not be resolved within 8 weeks.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Columbia: Peace Negotiations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions has the Minister had with the Columbian Government on progress on the peace process in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK has assisted the peace process since 2012, contributing over £28m in Conflict Stability and Security Funding since 2015 and holding the pen in the UN Security Council. I have had numerous discussions with the Colombian Government during that time on progress, most recently with the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs on 21 June.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many research analysts were employed in his Department's Eastern Research Group in each year since 2010.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government understands the importance of underpinning policy towards Russia with the necessary analytical capability, including that provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s Research Analysts (of which Eastern Research Group is an integral part). Research Analysts will continue, as at present, to act as the FCO's main link with external UK-based expertise on Russia, ensuring that policy-making is informed by a range of expert views on Russia from outside government.

LGBT People: Young People

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government is supporting young LGBT+ people in line with the Safe Schools Declaration.

Mark Field: The UK is fully committed to the promotion and protection of LGBT rights. The Safe Schools Declaration is a humanitarian pledge to protect all children, students and education personnel in schools and educational facilities from attack during armed conflicts and protracted crises. The Government is in the process of implementing the Declaration and its supporting guidelines. The Declaration and its guidelines do not make specific reference to matters relating to LGBT persons.

Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle: Territorial Waters

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will provide an update on the Government's policy on the territorial jurisdiction of Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government's position on Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough has not changed. The regulation of activities in the Loughs is the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body established under the Belfast Agreement of 1998. We remain fully committed to these arrangements and continue to work closely with the Irish Government over improvements to the management of the Loughs.

Zimbabwe: Elections

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK has consistently called for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, in line with the country's constitution. We have engaged regularly with actors from across the political spectrum to discuss how the international community can best support Zimbabwe's democratisation process. Most recently, our Ambassador in Harare met President Mnangagwa on 1 June and Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa on 15 June, to discuss these points.The UK will participate in the EU Electoral Observation Mission has been deployed to Zimbabwe to monitor the electoral process. Between 2014 and 2019 we are spending £24 million on civil society support for transparency, accountability, human rights and citizen engagement in Zimbabwe, much of which will help support democratisation. This includes an increase of £5 million announced in February specifically to support election-related work.

Nigeria: Armed Forces

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of the Nigerian armed forced in the alleged ethnic cleansing of riverine states by the Fulani militia.

Harriett Baldwin: We have seen no evidence of collusion by the Nigerian Armed Forces in inter-communal violence between settled farming communities and Fulani pastoralists. It is essential that all action taken by the Nigerian Armed Forces and security services is in accordance with International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. We welcome President Buhari's commitment to prioritise ending the violence, and echo his calls for calm and reconciliation between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Western Sahara: Business

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2018 to Question 138353 on Western Sahara: Business, whether commercial activity is illegal if it does not have the consent of the Saharawi people.

Alistair Burt: ​I refer my honorable friend to my previous answer (PQ138353) and reiterate that HMG does not provide legal advice to private companies in relation to their commercial activities. It is for companies to take their own decisions on whether to do business in Western Sahara.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage countries neighbouring southern Syria to (a) open their borders to civilians fleeing violence and (b) permit the delivery of cross-border aid to Syria.

Alistair Burt: We are deeply concerned about the numbers of displaced people in Southern Syria and are supporting this population through our humanitarian programmes, working closely with the UN and the Jordanian authorities. We are continually assessing the impact of events on the ground, and engaging with the Jordanian authorities on options for ensuring the protection of civilians. We also welcome Jordan’s diplomatic efforts to end the on-going violence.

Syria: Refugees

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what financial or other support the Government is providing to countries neighbouring Syria to help people displaced from Syria to those countries.

Alistair Burt: We are at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, providing life-saving support to millions of Syrians, supporting refugees to remain in countries in the region, and enabling their host communities to accommodate them. Since 2012, across Syria and the region, UK support has delivered over 27 million food rations, 12 million medical consultations, 10 million relief packages, and 10 million vaccines. Since 2012 we have spent £426 million in Lebanon; £399 million in Jordan and £246 million in Turkey providing humanitarian assistance, basic services in areas housing Syrian refugees and improving education provision for children.

Diego Garcia: USA

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2018 to Question 159643 on Diego Garcia, what assessment was made of the level of risk of explosives from US Navy ships in the anchorage at Diego Garcia in relation to his Department's Policy Review of Resettlement in BIOT by the Chagossians; and whether KPMG was made aware of the potential risks during that company's feasibility study.

Sir Alan Duncan: The risk of explosives is regularly assessed by military personnel in line with standard operating procedure given the close proximity of the base and personnel in Diego Garcia. As a stakeholder in the FCO Policy Review of Chagossian resettlement in BIOT, into which the KPMG feasibility study fed, the MoD was consulted.

Nigeria: Violence

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of attacks on predominately Christian villages by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria since October 2017 and (b) the number of retaliatory attacks on Fulani herdsmen during that same period.

Harriett Baldwin: There is no corroborative data on the number of attacks resulting from violence between farmers and herders in Nigeria. These clashes continue to have a devastating impact on the communities affected and both sides are believed to have suffered hundreds of casualties. We continue to urge all parties to find a peaceful solution to the complex underlying causes of these incidents.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Free Movement of Labour

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether businesses will be able to move staff (a) unrestricted and (b) under current rules on the movement of workers between the UK and the EU once the UK has left the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We have been clear that as we leave the EU, free movement of people will come to an end. As part of our future relationship with the EU we will seek to include a mobility framework so that UK nationals and EU citizens can continue to travel to each other’s territories and provide services – similar to what the UK may offer other close trading partners in the future. The Government has published a White Paper setting out further detail on the UK’s position on our future relationship with the EU.

English Language: Education

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on English language teaching schools (a) in the UK and (b) abroad; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is committed to English language teaching and recognises the opportunities and value this brings to schools in both the UK and abroad.The Government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain. As the PM said in her Mansion House speech on 2 March, ‘There are many other areas where the UK and EU economies are closely linked – including education and culture.’ We will continue to take part in specific policies and programmes which are greatly to the UK and the EU’s joint advantage, such as those that promote science, education and culture, such as Erasmus+.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Serco

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many current contracts his Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.

Mr Robin Walker: The Department have no current contracts with Serco.Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archiveThose published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether provision for the establishment of the new Independent Monitoring Authority will be made in the EU (Withdrawal and Implementation) Bill.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has announced its intention to bring forward a new bill - the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill - to implement the final Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union. This Bill will implement the major elements of the Withdrawal Agreement including the citizens' rights part, and it will make provision for the establishment of the independent monitoring authority. We will bring forward more detail on the Bill in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care

Tuberculosis

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of adequacy of his Department's funding for the eradication of tuberculosis.

Steve Brine: The Government has been active in tackling tuberculosis (TB) in the United Kingdom and in 2015 launched ‘The Collaborative TB Strategy for England’ which set out 10 key ‘areas for action’ to reduce TB incidence. This ambitious plan sets out how the Department aims to better treat, prevent and control tuberculosis in England. The plan’s objectives do not include eradication and thus we have not made a specific assessment on the funding required to do so. As part of the Collaborative TB Strategy 2015-2020, jointly developed by NHS England and Public Health England, NHS England funded clinical commissioning groups that have high TB incidence and/or high TB burden to offer latent TB testing and treatment to new entrants (i.e. within the past five years) to the UK who have come from countries with a TB incidence of equal or under 150 per 100,000 population or from sub-Saharan Africa. The strategy aims to achieve a year-on-year decrease in cases of TB, a reduction in health inequalities and the elimination of TB as a public health problem in England. The strategy is successfully delivering a decline in TB cases in England where in 2017 there were just over 5,000 new cases of TB in England; a decline of almost 40% since 2011. This shows that the measures we have funded and put in place have had a real impact with the rate of TB in the UK being the lowest it has been for 30 years.

Genetics: Screening

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that cancer patients will not experience delays to their diagnosis and treatment as a result of proposed changes to genomic cancer testing services as outlined in the NHS Genomic Testing Services tender.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS Genomic Testing Services tender included a requirement for the Genomic Laboratory Hubs to agree a Mobilisation Plan with NHS England which provides assurances that the continuity of services to patients will not be affected during the service re-configuration stages of mobilisation.

Genetics: Screening

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the competitiveness of the NHS Genomic Testing Services tender; and what steps he is taking to mitigate risk associated with monopoly providers of whole genome sequencing.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England and Genomics England follow robust and regular procurement procedures and review their processes regularly to ensure a fair and level playing field across competing providers. Genomics England has sought to partner with the very best providers of the latest available global technologies. Genomics England continues to evaluate all potentially credible alternative providers of clinical grade whole genome sequencing and to enter into contracts accordingly.

Lyme Disease

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Stakeholder experiences of the diagnosis of Lyme disease, A systematic review, published by Department of Health Reviews Facility in December 2017, what steps he has taken to improve the (a) diagnosis, (b) technology for and (c) testing of Lyme disease since the publication of that report.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department commissioned four independent separate systematic reviews of all relevant literature on the diagnosis, treatment, transmission and prevention of Lyme disease. The four systematic reviews were completed and published in December 2017 which assessed the existing evidence. The Department is aware of the findings which are available to the public, the research community and all research funders. We are investing over £1 billion a year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research on Lyme disease including those that reflect the conclusions of the systematic reviews as part of its regular processes. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Pregnancy: Mental Health Services

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to increase the effectiveness of GPs in identifying perinatal mental health problems in mothers in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: General practitioners and primary care teams have a crucial role in supporting the identification of perinatal mental illness and treatment, and are part of an integrated pathway of services. This includes monitoring early onset conditions, providing pre-conception counselling and referring women to specialist mental health services, including Improving Access to Psychological Therapies and specialist perinatal community teams, if necessary. NHS England is investing £63 million between 2016/17 and 2018/19 to support development of specialist perinatal mental health community services across England as part of a £365 million transformation programme of perinatal mental health services to 2020/21. Local teams work in close partnership with wider system partners, including primary care, to provide care and treatment to women with perinatal mental illness. NHS England has also invested in multidisciplinary perinatal mental health clinical networks which include general practitioners. The networks drive forward change, focusing on collaborative working. The networks develop local, integrated pathways and support early identification of those at risk of mental illness in the perinatal period, enabling better outcomes for women in all communities. Targeted funding of £1.2 million was provided in 2017 to enable the training of primary care, maternity and mental health staff to increase awareness and skills related to perinatal mental health.

Dementia

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of adults in (a) Medway and (b) England have been diagnosed with dementia in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of patients recorded as having a diagnosis of dementia on the practice dementia register, the total number of registered patients and the estimated dementia prevalence rate for England and NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) for the last five years and is shown in the following tables. Number of patients on the dementia register, the number of registered patients and prevalence, England. 2012/13 to 2016/17 2016/172015/162014/152013/142012/13Registered patients58,029,14756,458,66256,817,65456,324,88756,012,096Patients on the dementia register443,839428,343419,073348,973318,669Prevalence0.760.760.740.620.57 Number of patients on the dementia register, the number of registered patients and prevalence, NHS Medway CCG. 2012/13 to 2016/17 2016/172015/162014/152013/142012/13Registered patients294,834292,050291,501290,818284,552Patients on the dementia register1,6091,6741,5971,3771,332Prevalence0.550.570.550.470.47 Sources: NHS Digital. Quality and Outcomes Framework data collection.

Hypoglycaemia

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating funding for additional research into reactive hypoglycaemia.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which has a broad portfolio of research into diabetes and related symptoms. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including reactive hypoglycaemia. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications for funding are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Deerbolt Young Offender Institution: Health Services

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in HMYOI Deerbolt.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in HMYOI Werrington.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in HMYOI Wetherby.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Since April 2013, NHS England has commissioned health services for all children and young people in Youth Offenders Institutions (YOIs) in England. Neither the Department nor NHS England have made a formal published assessment. However, NHS England has systems in place to enable them to assess the adequacy of healthcare provision in HMYOIs Deerbolt, Werrington and Wetherby. In all three youth offender institutes these include quarterly contract management meetings, Health and Justice Indicators of Performance returns, quality assurance visits, a quality surveillance process, and intelligence arising from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and Care Quality Commission reports. In addition NHS England works closely with colleagues from Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service to ensure awareness of their concerns. A national prison pressures reporting process is now in place and monitored via the national Health and Justice Oversight Group. NHS England does not report any significant issues around the provision of healthcare at HMYOIs Wetherby, Deerbolt or Werrington.

Hospitals: Parking

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the feasibility of abolishing hospital parking charges in the last three months; and if he will make a statement.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the proceeds from hospital car parking charges are used.

Stephen Barclay: The Department keeps the issue of car parking charges under review following its 2015 guidance on National Health Service patient, visitor and staff car parking which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles Income generated from parking charges is used to pay the costs of providing the parking e.g. maintenance, security and lighting, and avoid funds being taken from budgets for healthcare services. If any excess is generated, it is used to fund clinical services. NHS trusts make decisions locally about the provision of car parking to patients, visitors and staff, and are provided guidance by the Department in published car parking principles. The principles provide a sufficient mandate for trusts to take a responsible approach to charging, including recommendations to charge on exit and providing reduced costs.

Neuroblastoma

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children with Neuroblastoma have access to the most effective (a) treatments and (b) drugs.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) NHS and (b) NICE officials on the availability of the drug Anti GD2 for the treatment of neuroblastoma.

Steve Brine: Current treatments for high-risk neuroblastoma include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stem cell transplantation, surgery and isotretinoin. Dinutuximab beta gained marketing authorisation in May 2017 and is used in combination with interleukin-2 (aldesleukin) as an additional treatment option for patients who have high-risk neuroblastoma and have shown some improvement with previous treatments or with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published final draft technology appraisal guidance on 12 July that recommends dinutuximab beta as a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources for patients meeting specified clinical criteria. Stakeholders now have an opportunity to appeal NICE’s draft recommendations. NICE expects to publish final guidance in August 2018. Ministers and Departmental officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in NHS England and NICE, including the availability of individual treatments.

Learning Disability: Mortality Rates

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason people with learning disabilities have been placed in the category of adults with serious mental illness in the Excess under 75 mortality rate data set in the May 2018 release of NHS Outcomes Framework Indicators.

Caroline Dinenage: The Excess under 75 mortality rate dataset defines adults with serious mental illness as “those who have been in contact with secondary mental health care services in the past three years”. This definition has not changed since the indicator was established in June 2012. The data is, however, taken from the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Dataset, which cannot distinctly divide activity into mental health or learning disability spells of care. This is because many people who have a learning disability use mental health services and people in learning disability services may have a mental health problem, so a single spell of care may include either or both types of service.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on developing a national strategy to address alcohol consumption in line with recommendation 4 of the Cancer Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that the Government's forthcoming alcohol strategy introduces a requirement for alcohol product labels to carry the Chief Medical Officers’ alcohol guidelines.

Steve Brine: The Government remains committed to tackling all-alcohol related harms, including cancer, which is why we are developing a new alcohol strategy. Ministers and officials are currently engaged in a series of meetings with stakeholders in the development of the strategy, which we hope to be able to publish early next year. The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines were published in 2016 to provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. The Department subsequently issued guidance in March 2017 setting out how the guidelines can be communicated on alcohol labels to better inform consumers. We will work with industry partners during the development of the strategy on promoting dissemination of the guidelines.

Mental Illness: Young People

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions are in place to support families of young people who have severe mental health issues.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Families of young people who have severe mental health problems will receive different types of support, depending on the specific needs of that young person. This support will be commissioned locally and could include family therapy; provision of information about how to support the young person; support groups for parents and jointly agreed crisis plans. The degree of involvement in issues regarding treatment will need to take into account the preferences and wishes of the young person and the degree to which they have capacity to consent to parental involvement.

Medical Records

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure that primary care providers are compensated by third party representatives of patients for providing copies of those patients' medical records.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect from 25 May, replacing the Data Protection Act 1998. Within the updated regulation is the right of access, which gives individuals the right to obtain a copy of their personal data, including, from a health perspective, copies of medical records. Previously, under the Data Protection Act 1998, organisations were able to make a charge for dealing with the administration required in such a request. Under the GDPR, the ability in law to levy such charges has been removed in most cases. One exception to this principle is medical information required by insurance companies for underwriting purposes. The right of access under GDPR confers more personal information than is needed or is justified for insurance underwriting. Accordingly, insurance companies should instead use the established mechanism of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (AMRA) to obtain summary medical reports from general practitioners (GPs). The AMRA allows the GP to charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying the report.

Arthritis

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to people with arthritis have access to aids and adaptations to help them complete essential daily tasks.

Caroline Dinenage: We know that aids and adaptations can greatly enhance the quality of life of older and disabled people, including those with arthritis, in addition to supporting them to be as independent as possible in their own homes. The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) supports disabled people, on low-incomes, to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs. Funding had already increased year-on-year, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £431 million in 2017-18. The Autumn Budget 2017 provided an additional £42 million for the remainder of the 2017-18 financial year. The grant is £468 million in 2018-19 and funding will rise further to £505 million by 2019-20. An independent review of the DFG is due to complete shortly. It will assess how the DFG is currently working, and make evidence-based recommendations on how it could change in the future. It will also consider wider adaptations issues including how the DFG might need to adapt to the changing aids and adaptations market, and whether it could support the adoption of new innovations and technology, and new designs.

Hospices: Children

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the level of funding for the Children's Hospice Grant; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: No specific assessment has been made. The Children’s Hospice Grant is awarded annually and administered by NHS England. During 2016/17, NHS England worked with Together for Short lives, the leading children’s end of life care charity, on a consultation on allocation method for the grant in 2017/18. All children’s hospices were invited to participate in the consultation. Following the consultation, NHS England decided to maintain the grant funding at its then current level of £11 million per year for 2017/18 and 2018/19, and review the grant allocation again in 2019/20.

Psychiatry: Consultants

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2018 to Question 158215 on Psychiatry: Consultants, how many Consultant Psychiatrists were employed in the NHS in each year since 2009, and how many FTE Consultant Psychiatrists were employed in the NHS in England in each year since 2009.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. The attached table shows the number of HCHS psychiatry consultants employed in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England, as at 30 September for each specified year and the latest data available, full time equivalent (FTE) and headcount.  



PQ162040 attached table
(Word Document, 13.79 KB)

Psychiatry: Doctors

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many psychiatry doctors were employed by the NHS in England at each grade in each year since 2009.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. The attached table shows the number of HCHS psychiatry doctors working in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England, by grade, as at 30 September for each year and latest data available, full time equivalent.  



PQ162041 attached table
(Word Document, 15.89 KB)

Mental Health Services: Acute Beds

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many acute mental health beds there were in the NHS in England in each year since 2009.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There is no data available for the total number of acute mental health beds in the National Health Service in England. The NHS England collection KH03 collects the number of available and occupied beds open overnight that are under the care of consultants. Since 2013/14 we are aware that many trusts have started classifying an increasing number of mental illness beds as non-consultant-led. This is because some mental health services are now run by multi-disciplinary teams rather than consultants. The number of acute consultant-led mental health beds in the NHS in England since 2009 is shown in the following table. The table may not include all of the following types of bed - adult secure mental illness; adult secure learning disability and autism; adult eating disorder; child and mental health service Tier 4, including eating disorder; perinatal and neuropsychiatry. PeriodNumber of available consultant-led mental illness beds2008-0926,4482009-1025,503Q1 2010/1123,515Q2 2010/1122,929Q3 2010/1123,740Q4 2010/1123,607Q1 2011/1223,253Q2 2011/1223,208Q3 2011/1223,016Q4 2011/1223,121Q1 2012/1322,550Q2 2012/1322,269Q3 2012/1322,496Q4 2012/1322,268Q1 2013/1422,109Q2 2013/1422,025Q3 2013/1421,931Q4 2013/1421,731Q1 2014/1521,750Q2 2014/1521,618Q3 2014/1521,446Q4 2014/1521,374Q1 2015/1618,569Q2 2015/1619,249Q3 2015/1619,273Q4 2015/1619,086Q1 2016/1718,928Q2 2016/1718,821Q3 2016/1718,750Q4 2016/1718,422Q1 2017/1818,460Q2 2017/1818,353Q3 2017/1818,282Q4 2017/1818,082Source: NHS England: Unify2 data collection- KH03 Notes: Prior to 2010, the KH03 return was collected annually. As of Q1 2010/11 the data was collected on a quarterly basis. This difference is represented by the line separation above. Both methods collect the daily average number of available beds.

Psychiatry: Consultants

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist child and adolescent mental health Consultant Psychiatrists were employed in the NHS in England in each year since 2009.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist learning disability consultant psychiatrists were employed in the NHS in England in each year since 2009.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. The attached table shows the full time equivalent number of consultants specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, and learning disabilities psychiatry employed in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England, as at 30 September each specified year and latest data available, as at 31 March 2018. 



PQ162043,162044 attached document
(Word Document, 13.88 KB)

Learning Disability: Nurses

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of availability of learning disability liaison nurses in Dudley.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Tuberculosis was excluded from the scope of  the £10 million Small Business Research Initiative competition on antimicrobial resistance in humans.

Steve Brine: The Small Business Research Initiative competition is funded by a Department of Health and Social Care non-Official Development Assistance budget. Research specifically on Tuberculosis (TB) pathogens was deprioritised for this competition as there are established global funds targeting the development of new treatments for TB. The United Kingdom is contributing to a reduction in drug resistant TB by implementing the Collaborative TB Strategy for England, which parallels and integrates with the aims and actions of the UK Antimicrobial Resistance strategy.

Terminal Illnesses

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of allowing clinicians to to determine if someone is terminally ill instead of requiring a reasonable expectation of death within six months.

Caroline Dinenage: Decisions regarding patient prognosis are a matter for individual clinicians or clinical teams, consulting with specialists as appropriate. There are a number of tools that clinicians may employ to support decision making in this regard, such as the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) Prognostic Indicator Guidance, which a clinician may use to assess whether a patient is in the last 12 months of life, to enable them to put in the necessary support that patient may need. The GSF was originally developed in 2000 as a grass roots initiative to improve primary palliative care from within primary care. Following a pilot in 2001, its usage was spread through a national programme supported by the National Health Service, Macmillan and the Department. The Prognostic Indicator Guidance provides useful prompts or ‘triggers’ to a healthcare professional that discussions about the end of life should be initiated, if this has not already happened. More information about the GSF can be found at the following link: www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk/

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of time between a referral to an Approved Mental Health Professional and a section being carried out under the Mental Health Act 1983 was in (a) the London Borough of Southwark and (b) London in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether the availability of inpatient beds in acute psychiatric hospitals in south London has had an effect on the time taken to carry out sections under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the length of time between (a) a section of someone living in the community under the Mental Health Act 1983 being recommended and (b) that section carried out in south London.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England (London) has developed the Mental Health Compact which sets out the minimum expectations for mental health patients requiring an inpatient admission to an acute psychiatric bed. The Compact outlines the roles and responsibilities of individual organisations along patient pathways to admission and details principles for a London-wide approach to capacity management and escalation (when required) to prevent the sometimes, lengthy waits to inpatient beds. In South London, in particular, work is underway with acute and mental health providers to review activity, service models and pathways to understand recent increasing demand and any system-wide capacity constraints. This is to develop a common understanding of the challenges and enable joint working to improve flow through mental health and emergency care pathways, meet the needs of people presenting with mental health problems and reduce system pressures. The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health is clear that everyone should be able to receive the care they need in the least restrictive setting and as close to home as possible. This means a local acute inpatient bed should always be available if required. To support this aim NHS England and NHS Improvement have put in place a clinically-led national programme of support for areas experiencing high bed pressures and consequent reliance on acute mental health out of area placements. The programme supports areas to identify and address the key causes of their capacity pressures, focusing on effective pathway management and the availability of community-based alternatives to inpatient care. South London is one of 16 areas which have received support from this programme to date, and every sustainability and transformation partnership nationally now has a trajectory in place to eliminate acute out of placements due to local bed pressures by 2021. The Care Quality Commission reported in January on the reasons for the rise in detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983. Its report, ‘The rise in the use of the MHA to detain people in England’, found that changes in mental health service provision and bed management were one reason for the rise, with “delays in admission due to a bed not being available may mean that a patient, who might have consented to be admitted informally at an earlier stage, may deteriorate and become unwilling or unable to agree to an admission, and therefore need to be detained under the MHA”. This report is available at the following link: https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20180123_mhadetentions_report.pdf The Government has asked Professor Sir Simon Wessely to lead an Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983, to make recommendations on legislation and practice to improve how the Act functions in a modern mental health system. The Independent Review is considering how to address delays in the system and it will report in the autumn. It published an interim report in May, ‘The Independent Review of the Mental Health Act interim reports’, which is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/703919/The_independent_Mental_Health_Act_review__interim_report_01_05_2018.pdf

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether the availability of police in south London has had an effect on the time taken to carry out sections under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We have made no such assessment. The availability of police in local areas is a matter for the Home Department and for regional police and crime commissioners. Police powers under the Mental Health Act 1983 are limited to short term emergency sections under s135 and s136. For formal sections to hospital the police have no role, these are decisions made by Approved Mental Health Professionals on the advice of doctors. The Government has asked Professor Sir Simon Wessely to lead an Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983, to make recommendations on legislation and practice to improve how the Act functions in a modern mental health system. The Independent review is considering how to address delays in the system. The Independent Review will report in the autumn. It published an interim report in May, which is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/703919/The_independent_Mental_Health_Act_review__interim_report_01_05_2018.pdf

Psychiatric Hospitals: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure the availability of inpatient beds in acute psychiatric hospitals in south London.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health is clear that everyone should be able to receive the care they need in the least restrictive setting and as close to home as possible. This means a local acute inpatient bed should always be available if required. To support this aim NHS England and NHS Improvement have put in place a clinically-led national programme of support for areas experiencing high bed pressures and consequent reliance on acute mental health out of area placements. The programme supports areas to identify and address the key causes of their capacity pressures, focusing on effective pathway management and the availability of community-based alternatives to inpatient care. South London is one of 16 areas which have received support from this programme to date, and every sustainability and transformation partnership nationally now has a trajectory in place to eliminate acute out of placements due to local bed pressures by 2021.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Serco

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many current contracts her Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.

Alistair Burt: DFID has no record of any current contracts with the Serco.Details of DFID contracts above the OJEU threshold are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive.Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Syria: Refugees

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment the Government has made of the nature of the challenges and threats facing (a) Yazidi, (b) Christian and (c) other religious or ethnic minority Syrian refugees.

Alistair Burt: The UK is concerned at the severity and scale of violations of freedom of religion or belief in the Middle East, and the continuation of violent extremism. We are committed to ensuring that our humanitarian assistance is delivered without discrimination, in accordance with the humanitarian principles, and based on need alone. The situation of minority communities is taken into account by our partners when assessing those most in need of protection and assistance in a given humanitarian context. This includes when a community is being targeted or is otherwise vulnerable because of their faith.

Department for Education

Pupils: Assessments

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to reduce the attainment gap in (a) Medway and (b) England.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 06 July 2018



Since 2010 the key objective of education reform has been to reduce the attainment gap in schools. The Government has introduced the £2.5 billion Pupil Premium to support the education of disadvantaged pupils, and since 2010 the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed by 10% in both primary and secondary school. In 2017, the percentage of pupils achieving the expected Key Stage 2 standard in Reading, Writing and Maths was 61% (48% for disadvantaged pupils and 67% for all other pupils). In 2016, the percentage was 53% (39% for disadvantaged pupils and 60% for all other pupils). The Department is encouraging and supporting multi-academy trusts with strong track records in school improvement. The Department is already seeing the impact in academies; for instance, Victory Academy, located in one of the most deprived wards in Medway, which has become part of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, was judged good by Ofsted in November 2017. The Inspire Special Free School; part of the Parallel Learning Trust, improved to good in June 2018.

Children: Day Care

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who are eligible for 30 hours free childcare in (a) the Bexleyheath and Crayford Constituency, (b) Bexley Borough and (c) London.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government set out in the 2015 Spending Review that nationally we expect 390,000 children to be eligible for 30 hours free childcare. This figure is derived from national survey data taken in January and is an average across the year. Estimates at a regional and local authority level are not available due to the relatively small population that we are estimating within sub-national geographies.We publish termly experimental statistics showing the number of children in a place. The most recent publication showed that 1,561 codes were issued in Bexley and that 1,113 children were in a 30 hours place in the summer term. Furthermore, at a regional level, 44,963 codes were issued in London and 37,286 children were in a 30 hours place.Although we do not hold data at a constituency level, the full publication, which shows local authority and regional level breakdowns, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-summer-term-2018.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many special post-16 institutions were successful in their bid for high needs funding from the Education and Skills Funding agency for the 2018-19 academic year; and what the regional breakdown is of those successful bids.

Anne Milton: A total of 18 special post-16 institutions were successful in their bid for high needs funding for the 2018/19 academic year. The regional breakdown is as follows:RegionNumber of special post-16 institutionsLondon3North East1North West4South East4South West3West Midlands2Yorkshire and the Humber1Total18

Students: Plagiarism

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) contract cheating services and (b) essay mills in Universities.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it illegal for third party companies to provide exam answers to students.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is undertaking a review to establish the extent to which the practices of companies offering (a) essay writing and (b) other cheat services to students in the UK are illegal.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to counter the practices of companies that offer essay writing and other cheat services to students in the UK.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Cheating is unacceptable - it undermines the reputation of the sector, and devalues the hard work of those succeeding on their own merit. I welcome the swift action YouTube took to remove videos containing adverts promoting the EduBirdie essay-writing service, in response to recent the BBC Trending investigation on academic cheating, in which I made it very clear that YouTube had a moral responsibility to take action. We are currently focusing on non-legislative options, but remain open to the future need for legislation, and will investigate all options available. We should only legislate where it is absolutely necessary. The government’s preferred approach is to tackle this issue through a sector-led initiative, which is why the department has worked with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), Universities UK (UUK) and the National Union of Students to publish guidance last October for all UK Universities on how best to tackle contract cheating. Time is needed to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the new guidance and this is underway. The QAA is running a series of seminars to evaluate how the sector is using the guidance. Universities themselves are already taking action, and it is right that they should do so, as it is their own reputations and that of the higher education sector that are on the line. UUK played a key role in developing the new guidance. In England, through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, we have brought forward legislation that gives the new Office for Students (OfS) the power to take action if providers are complicit, which including imposing fines or ultimately de-registration of providers, the highest possible punishment. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s first ever strategic guidance letter to the OfS made it clear that it is a priority for the OfS to work with the QAA to improve and ensure confidence in the quality and standards of higher education. The OfS has an obligation to report to the Secretary of State, and the department will monitor progress closely.

Communication Skills: Qualifications

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to ensure that communication skills identified as needed for the workplace are recognised in the criteria for the Functional Skills qualifications.

Anne Milton: We are reforming Functional Skills to make sure their content addresses the skills that employers have told us they need. Over 500 employers of varying sizes responded to the employer survey or participated in follow-up interviews[1]. These results have been used to reform the content of Functional Skills[2] (published in February this year) so they will deliver what employers require. Good communication skills was a key skillset identified by employers, especially oral communication. Speaking and listening have always been a key part of the English Functional Skills qualification, but the reformed qualification will include the term ‘communicating’ to recognise that learners, especially those with disabilities, may communicate in different ways.  [1]http://www.pyetait.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Employer-Consultation-final-report2.pdf.[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/functional-skills-subject-content-english.

Social Services: Children

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for the provision of high quality social care services for disabled children throughout England.

Nadhim Zahawi: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 July 2018 to Question 159051:https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-06-29/159051/.

Department for Education: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of staff working in his Department that have been state educated.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) careers advice and (a) guidance his Department has made available for pupils with special educational needs and disability in schools in Coventry.

Anne Milton: Schools are responsible for making sure that their pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), receive independent careers advice and guidance. To help schools do this, the government’s careers strategy, published in December 2017, contains a number of proposals to improve careers advice for pupils with SEND. These activities will help young people across England, including in schools in Coventry: Funding for the Education and Training Foundation to provide professional development for practitioners working with young people with additional needs.Funding for training and materials for post-16 providers to help them design and tailor study programmes which offer a pathway to employment for these learners.A toolkit for schools and colleges by The Careers & Enterprise Company and the Gatsby Foundation.Training for Enterprise Advisers (senior volunteers from business who support schools with their careers programme) so they are confident helping people with SEND. We will also be funding grants later this year to establish good practice in innovative ways of working with young people with SEND and their parents. More details about the funding available can be found in the prospectus on The Careers & Enterprise Company’s website at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/cef2018_prospectus.pdf.

Schools: Census

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is the Government's policy that schools will be required to request children's nationality and country of birth through the termly school census for the academic year 2018-19.

Nick Gibb: The requirements for the 2018/19 school census were finalised, and communicated to schools, via publication of the 2018/19 school census guidance on 28 June 2018:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-census. From September 2018 onwards, there is no requirement for schools to collect, or hold, nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English data for the purposes of the school census.

Schools: Staff

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to improve staff retention rates in schools throughout the UK.

Nick Gibb: At the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference in March, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the development of a strategy to drive recruitment and boost retention of teachers. The strategy will build on the existing work we have done to support schools and will involve ensuring a period of stability and clarifying the accountability system. In May 2018, the Department published a response to our ‘Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status and improving career progression for teachers’ consultation, which will include introducing an extended induction period – supported by an Early Career Framework – and setting up a work-related sabbaticals pilot for more established teachers. The Department has identified the most important factors that influence the decisions of those teachers who do decide to leave the profession and are working hard to tackle them. These include, for instance, our Workload Action Plan and encouraging schools to provide more flexible working arrangements.

Education: Assessments

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the implications are for his Department's policy on baseline assessments of the report, A baseline without basis, published by the British Educational Research Association on 4 July 2018.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education does not intend to change its policy on the reception baseline in response to the British Educational Research Association’s report.The new baseline is being developed by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), an organisation with a proven and respected track record of developing assessments.The proposal to introduce the new baseline was set out in our 2017 public consultation on the future of the primary assessment system in England and drew support from a majority of respondents. Those responding in favour included the National Association of Head Teachers and the Association of School and College Leaders. Their responses were on the basis that the introduction of the new baseline will make it possible for statutory end of key stage 1 assessments to be removed, thereby making the primary assessment system more proportionate.All aspects of the development of the new baseline will be informed by an extensive evidence base of research into the assessment of pupils in the early years. NFER will collect further evidence during the trial and pilot phases to inform the department’s decision-making. This will ensure that the reception baseline is robust. It will also ensure that the data collected is sufficiently valid and reliable for the purposes of creating a new value-added progress measure. This progress measure will recognise the progress that schools make with all their pupils, regardless of the pupils’ background, throughout their time at primary school.

Ministry of Justice

Child Support and Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many First-tier tribunal cases relating to to (a) social security and (b) child support claims have taken place in Inverclyde constituency in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 09 July 2018



The information requested is provided in the table below. FYTD5Greenock1Glasgow2Social Security3Child Support4Total ClearedNumber cleared at hearingNumber cleared without a hearingTotal ClearedNumber cleared at hearingNumber cleared without a hearing2013-2014167014702004632142014-2015514404110281992015-2016773675986048122016-2017703604993524112017-201861127984143674819  Social Security and Child Support appeals are normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address, but can produce reports detailing the number of cases that were dealt with at one of our regional centres or heard at a specific venue. Inverclyde appeals are registered to the Greenock venue, with the exception of Child Support Appeals which are registered to the Glasgow venue.Data for Glasgow will include all Child Support Appeals heard at that venue, not just those living in the Inverclyde Area.Social Security Appeals include all appeals received in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) with the exception of those in relation to specific Child Support Benefits (e.g. Child Support Assessments, Child Support Reform).Child Support relates to appeals relating to Child Support Benefit (e.g. Child Support Assessments, Child Support Reform).By financial year - from April to March.Data April 17 to March 18 are provisional data and are subject to change.   Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale management system and are the best data available.The data may differ slightly to those of the published stats as these data were run on a different date.

Crime: Victims

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential cost to the public purse of the introduction of a victims' law.

Edward Argar: Supporting victims of crime is a priority for the Government and we have made a commitment to publish a Victims Strategy this Summer. We want to make sure that we get the Victims Strategy right and that it properly meets the needs of victims. We are looking at both legislative and non-legislative options to give effect to the Strategy and address issues identified by stakeholders. This includes assessing the costs of options as work progresses.

Legal Aid Scheme

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has any plans to ensure that there is a minimum amount of criminal legal aid lawyers in each local authority area.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 09 July 2018



The Government is clear that there are sufficient solicitors and barristers to undertake criminal legal aid-funded cases and will make sure this continues to be the case. The Legal Aid Agency monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on a regular basis and takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public. The 2017 tender for crime contracts resulted in a greater number of offices being awarded criminal legal aid contracts, providing sufficient coverage in each local authority area.

Legal Aid Scheme

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the pay and conditions for criminal legal aid lawyers are adequate to encourage more people to enter the profession.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 09 July 2018



The Government is clear that there are sufficient solicitors and barristers to undertake criminal legal aid-funded cases and will make sure this continues to be the case. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on a regular basis and takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public. Last year £891 million was spent on criminal legal aid so that those who most need legal support are able to get it. The Ministry of Justice, the LAA and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service are working with representatives from solicitors’ and barristers’ groups as they look to evolve the way that courts are operating moving forward. This involves looking at options on working more digitally and an increased utilisation of virtual facilities. We will consider what future fee structures will be appropriate for future ways of working, the aim of which is to ensure that legal aid remains available for those that need it as the court estate and services are reconfigured.

Prison Officers: Labour Turnover

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the retention rate of experienced prison officers.

Rory Stewart: We commend our hard-working prison officers who do a vital job in protecting the public every day, often in very challenging, difficult and dangerous circumstances. We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. We’ve improved induction processes to ease transition into the job, provide care and support for our staff and offer additional training. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new recruits remain in the service. The Prison Officer Recruitment and Retention Programme has been established to meet the target of 2,500 net increase in prison officers by December 2018, announced in the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper. In order to safeguard the White Paper investment and maintain the experience of existing staff, we are focusing on ways to reduce attrition levels. The Retention Framework, Toolkit and Action Plan was launched in August 2017, designed to support prisons in identifying drivers of attrition and put in place targeted local interventions. This approach was piloted at a number of establishments across the estate and the results are currently being evaluated. The findings, including additional guidance on best practice, will shortly be shared with Senior Managers and HR professional across HMPPS.

Family Proceedings

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government has taken to reform the family justice system to give equal value to the role of the mother and the father.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 09 July 2018



The legislative framework which governs family law cases about children is gender neutral and focused on the welfare of children involved and not on any perceived rights of either parent. Each case is determined on the facts and the individual welfare needs of the child as determined by an independent judiciary. The court is legally required to presume that the involvement of a parent in the life of the child concerned will further that child’s welfare, unless it can be shown that this would not be so.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many tribunal claimants have been repaid since the supreme court decision in 2017.

Lucy Frazer: The number of refunds of Employment Tribunal fees repaid as at 31 March was 7,700.More up to date details of the number and value of refunds paid by the Ministry of will be published in September.

Trials

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of trials in the fast track in the 12 months up to and including May 2018.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were settled or withdrawn without a trial in the fast track in the 12 months up to and including May 2018.

Lucy Frazer: PQ 161531 The number of fast and multi-track trials in England and Wales in the 12 months up to and including March 2018, which are the latest available data, is provided in the table below. Centrally held data sources used to produce official statistics do not distinguish between multi and fast track trials (only allocations to track). They are, therefore, reported as an aggregate figure. YearQuarterVolume2017Q24,079 Q34,119 Q43,7962018Q1provisional4,301 Total16,295 Source: Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly, MoJ  PQ 161532  The number of cases settled or withdrawn from the fast track without a trial in the 12 months up to and including March 2018, which are the latest available data, is:  Settled/withdrawn before hearing (trial)FY 2017/1834,356 Source: HMCTS Performance Database

Small Claims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were settled or withdrawn without a trial in the small claims track in the 12 months up to and including May 2018.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the settlement rate in the small claims track was in the 12 months up to and including May 2018.

Lucy Frazer: PQ 161535 The number of cases settled or withdrawn from the small claims track without a trial in England and Wales in the 12 months up to and including March 2018, which are the latest available data, is:  Settled/withdrawn before hearing (trial)  FY 2017/1837,566   Source: HMCTS Performance Database PQ 161536 The settlement rate for claims allocated to the small claims track in England and Wales in the 12 months up to and including March 2018, which are the latest available data, is:  Settlement rate FY 2017/1843%   Source: HMCTS Performance Database

Small Claims: Legal Representation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the potential number of people who would choose to self-represent in court as a result of changes to the small claims track limit.

Lucy Frazer: The Government published a validated impact assessment alongside the Civil Liability Bill on 20 March 2018. It contains analysis, data and assumptions including the likely number of self-represented personal injury claimants following implementation of the measures being taken forward in the Bill and also the supplementary measures to increase the small claims limit for personal injury claims. The Impact Assessment is available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.

Legal Aid Scheme

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will undertake a comprehensive review of legal aid provision.

Lucy Frazer: The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country, and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.The Government is currently undertaking a post-implementation review of the impact of the legal aid changes made under Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and remains committed to publishing the findings by the end of this year.The Government plans to use the evidence gathered as part of the review to inform its wider consideration on the future of legal support in the justice system.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Answer of 2 May 2018 to Question 137525, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals for a Victim's Law before the parliamentary summer recess.

Edward Argar: Supporting victims of crime is a priority for the Government and we have made a commitment to publish a Victims Strategy this Summer. We are looking at legislative and non-legislative options to give effect to the Strategy. We want to make sure that the Strategy properly addresses the needs of victims, so we have engaged widely with victims, victims’ groups, academics, Police and Crime Commissioners and criminal justice agencies as part of the development of the Strategy, and continue to do so as we finalise it.

Remand in Custody: Health

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on the long-term effects of being remanded in prison on people that are subsequently acquitted.

Rory Stewart: Decisions about whether to grant bail or remand in custody and decisions regarding a finding of guilt or innocence are solely matters for the courts acting in accordance with the law. The decision to remand in custody is a separate consideration to deciding on guilt or innocence and made under different legal provisions. It is therefore possible for a court to make an entirely appropriate decision to remand in custody and for that person to be subsequently acquitted of the offence. The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care discuss on a regular basis health issues arising from a person being detained in prison.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on procurement of enforcement services by Approved Enforcement Agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: The preferred option and business case is progressing through the final governance stages. Inevitably a contract of this complexity requires a robust procurement and approvals process, as it is important to make sure that the best possible solution is chosen for HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to make an announcement on the outcome of the procurement process for the provision of enforcement services by Approved Enforcement Agencies, and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: HMCTS will announce the decision following the conclusion of the governance process.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria his Department uses to assess the (a) quality of service, (b) financial sustainability, and (c) status as a fit and proper service provider of Approved Enforcement Agencies.

Lucy Frazer: a) Bidder’s tenders were evaluated against key quality and technical criteria assessing experience, capability and capacity. This was a two-stage process where minimum criteria had to be met to progress to the next stage of the procurement process, to ensure that highest quality and best value for money bids were assessed.b) Preferred bidders are also subject to a financial viability risk assessment assessing: profit & loss, organisation performance, organisational stability, growth management, financial stability, efficiency and other areas deemed necessary.c) Bidders must adhere to codes of conduct as detailed in the specification.

Criminal Behaviour Orders

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 126953 on Court Orders, how many Criminal Behaviour Orders were granted in 2017.

Rory Stewart: 909 Criminal Behaviour Orders were granted by the courts in England and Wales in 2017. Criminal Behaviour Orders were introduced in October 2014 by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and time for this disposal to gain traction in the courts should be considered.

Criminal Behaviour Orders

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Criminal Behaviour Orders were breached in each year since 2014-15.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many breaches of Criminal Behaviour Orders have resulted in prison sentences in each year since 2014-15.

Rory Stewart: The number of offenders convicted for breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order and the number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in each year since 2014/15 can be found in the ‘Outcomes by offence data tool’ at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017 Filter by ‘Offence’ and search: ’66.7 Breach of a criminal behaviour order’. Criminal Behaviour Orders were introduced in October 2014 by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and time for this disposal to gain traction in the courts should be considered.

Treasury

Farmers: VAT

Nigel Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many successful entrants there have been to the HMRC agricultural flat rate scheme for farmers in each year since its commencement.

Mel Stride: The number of successful entrants to the agricultural flat rate scheme for each year since its commencement in 1993 to 2017 is as follows: YearNumber of entrants19932551994133199513719967819971101998801999672000105200162200270200377200444200551200628200720200842200963201054201161201255201327201430201526201628201739Total1742 These figures are based on management information and have not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

Farmers: VAT

Nigel Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many successful applicants to the HMRC agricultural flat rate scheme for farmers were subsequently excluded from that scheme in each year since its formation.

Mel Stride: The following table lists the known exclusions from the agricultural flat rate scheme by calendar year: YearNumber2011520121320131020142201512016020170Total31 These figures are based on management information and have not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics. Figures are not available for the period covering 1993-2010.

Ivory: Trade

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the loss of revenue to the Exchequer as a result of the effect of the ivory ban set out in the Ivory Bill.

Mel Stride: The Ivory Bill will prevent the poaching of elephants by introducing a total ban, with narrow and limited exemptions, on sales in the UK that contribute directly or indirectly to the poaching of elephants. At present, sales of ivory by VAT registered businesses are subject to VAT under normal VAT rules. The Government’s assessment of the Ivory Bill’s impact on sales of ivory is available online at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/710369/ivory-bill-ia.pdf

Natural Gas: Storage

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review gas storage business rates after the decision of EDF to close the Hole House gas storage facility because of challenging market conditions.

Robert Jenrick: The UK benefits from highly diverse and flexible sources of gas supply. Low gas prices have contributed to challenging market conditions in the gas storage market. The government recognises that business rates can represent a high cost for some businesses. That’s why it has taken repeated action to reduce their burden, announcing reforms and reductions worth over £10bn by 2023.

Minimum Wage: West Midlands

John Spellar: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions took place in the West Midlands for failure to pay the minimum wage in 2017; and how many of those prosecutions led to convictions.

Mel Stride: HMRC does not collate prosecution data in reference to government regions, constituencies or counties. Since 2007, HMRC investigations have led to the successful prosecution of 14 UK employers for National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) related offences. HMRC always takes action to ensure workers receive what they are entitled to. Breaches of NMW legislation are normally a civil matter, and consequences for not complying with paying NMW can include fines of 200% of the arrears and public naming. Criminal prosecution may cause delays in recovering arrears for workers and does not necessarily guarantee payment, and is reserved for the most serious non-compliance. The most serious NMW breaches and cases that form part of wider criminality will be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service who decide whether to prosecute. The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the NMW receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 or via the online complaints form at gov.uk. HMRC reviews all complaints that are referred to them.

Jaguar Land Rover: Tax Allowances

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Jaguar Land Rover on tax incentives for their work on developing batteries at their site in Coventry.

Robert Jenrick: As part of the policy making process government regularly engages with the automotive sector, including on how to encourage the development of battery technology. Through mechanisms such as the Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax, the government encourages the uptake and manufacture of cars with low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is supported by other cross-departmental work such as the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, the Automotive Sector Deal, the Advanced Propulsion Centre, and the £246m Faraday Battery Challenge, which aims to position the UK at the cutting edge of battery technology.

Child Care Vouchers

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his Department's policy to close the childcare vouchers scheme to new applicants on 4 October 2018.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Honourable member to my statement made on 29 March 2018 www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&member=4097

Revenue and Customs: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 7 March 2018, Official Report, column 428, what proportion of HMRC staff based in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, his Department estimates will be able to (a) transfer to an HMRC Regional Centre or (b) complete their career in that location.

Mel Stride: HMRC believes that the majority of its workforce in Brierley Hill will be able to move to a regional centre or see out their career in an existing HMRC office. The exact position will be known after the one to one meetings between staff and their managers, around a year in advance of any move which affects them, as these discussions take into account personal circumstances. HMRC has been clear that if someone can move to a regional centre and has the skills it needs or is able to develop them, there will be a role for them. It will continue to offer practical support for people who want to remain in the Civil Service, as well as for those who may choose to leave.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timescale is for extending the right to buy housing scheme to tenants of housing association properties.

Kit Malthouse: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 157707 on 4 July 2018.

Help to Buy Scheme

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2018 to Question 154737 on Help to Buy Scheme, how much the £188,874,391 represents as (a) a proportion and (b) in cash terms of the total amount of money loaned in relation to those 3905 equity loans which have been redeemed.

Kit Malthouse: From the start of the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme in April 2013 to the end of December 2017, 3,905 equity loans taken out on leasehold properties have been redeemed to a total value of £188,874,391. This represents 27 per cent of the 14,315 equity loans in total that have been fully redeemed and 26 per cent of their total cash receipts from the redemption of those loans, for that same period.

Affordable Housing: Bexley

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to the London Borough of Bexley from the Affordable Homes Programme; and how much money from that programme has been allocated to Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.

Kit Malthouse: The Mayor has overall responsibility for affordable housing policy and delivery in London. In recognition of the acute affordability pressures in London, the Government has agreed a £4.8 billion deal with the GLA, including £1.67 billion announced at Spring Statement, to deliver at least 116,000 affordable housing starts by March 2022.London Affordable Homes Programme allocations are published on the GLA website which can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/record-17bn-deal-for-new-homes

Aerials: Location

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to regulate the placement of base station antennae.

Kit Malthouse: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 157806 on 4 July 2018.

Housing: Construction Methods

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147325, how his Department plans to apply its developing understanding of the implications of modern methods of construction for Building Regulations’ requirements in any future review of those regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: The Department is considering its research plans on matters covered by building regulations, in the light of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety by Dame Judith Hackitt.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Databases

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to introduce a Government-maintained, transparent database of information on land prices, transactions, options, ownership and build out rates.

Kit Malthouse: The Housing White Paper announced a package of measures to improve data on build-out rates, and land subject to options and other contractual controls.We have consulted on measures to improve the transparency of build out rates. There was strong stakeholder support, and we are continuing to explore the opportunities for greater transparency. This work will be informed by the current independent review on build out being led by Sir Oliver Letwin.We will shortly be publishing a call for evidence on proposals to improve the transparency of land subject to options and other contractual controls.Data on land prices, transactions and ownership is held by HM Land Registry, a non-ministerial department sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Affordable Housing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to ensure that public bodies use and share their expertise in identifying, buying and assembling land for affordable housing before procuring partners openly and transparently.

Kit Malthouse: We encourage public bodies to dispose of their surplus land for housing. Homes England, the Government’s national housing agency, because of its expertise in land disposal, can provide advice and support to public bodies that need it to realise their land disposal plans.MHCLG is also working closely with the Office of Government Property (OGP) in Cabinet Office. OGP leads the Government's Property Function and delivers the One Public Estate programme in partnership with the Local Government Association, supporting public sector bodies to collaborate on the shared use of their assets. OGP also leads the Government Property Profession, which promotes sharing of skills, practices and experience across Government.

Affordable Housing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to ensure that all combined authorities introduce a locally appropriate, minimum affordable housing threshold on private and public land.

Kit Malthouse: Combined authorities and their mayors have planning responsibilities only where as part of an agreed devolution deal these functions have been conferred on them, as is the case with the mayors of Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and West of England, who are required to publish a Spatial Development Strategy, where they could set out an affordable housing threshold.Whilst Government policy, as set out in the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework, is that planning policies and decisions should consider what level of affordable housing provision is appropriate having regard to local circumstances, deciding to use an affordable housing threshold to achieve this is a local decision.

Planning Permission: Cheshire

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to address effect of the shortage of planning inspectors on the progress of road developments in Cheshire East.

Kit Malthouse: The shortage of planning inspectors is being dealt with by a substantial and on-going recruitment programme. The Planning Inspectorate is working to increase the number of specialist inspectors with training and mentoring support, against a demanding background of increasing levels of work in nearly all areas of the business.

Business Improvement Districts

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the establishment of a national register of Business Improvement Districts.

Jake Berry: The Government is committed to supporting Business Improvement Districts, and recognises the important role they play in allowing local businesses to work together to shape and improve their high streets and towns.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Government Assistance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to provide financial assistance to military veterans who retired with fewer than 22 years' service before 5 April 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions of the Social Security Acts 1973 and 1975 on the standard of living of military veterans who retired with fewer than 22 years' service before 5 April 1975.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has estimated the cost to the public purse of making payments to support military veterans who retired with fewer than 22 years' service before 5 April 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr Lancaster) on 4 December 2015 to Question 18125.



Armed Forces: Retirement
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RAF Lossiemouth: Air Traffic Control

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the implementation of the air traffic control radar mitigation scheme at RAF Lossiemouth in relation to consented but unbuilt onshore wind farms.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence has no agreements with onshore wind farm developers to implement an air traffic control radar mitigation scheme at RAF Lossiemouth. However, we remain committed to continue working with the wind farm industry and other stakeholders in Scotland on the implementation of any such schemes they may propose.

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of people joining the reserves from the regular armed forces in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The number of UK Regular Service personnel joining the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) over the last five years is shown below. 2013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18310460710710710 Notes: these figures include only direct transfers from Regulars to the FR20 population, without a gap. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, except for numbers ending in a 5 which have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on low-income families of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland.

Alok Sharma: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided to Question 129558 on 1 March 2018.

Personal Independence Payment: Older People

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the effect of setting the cut-off point for claiming personal independence payment and its mobility part at 65 years on the ability to travel to and from work of people who become disabled after their 65th birthday; and if she will make a statement.

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of setting the cut-off point for claiming personal independence payment and its mobility part at 65 years on the economic contribution of people who become disabled after their 65th birthday and need or wish to travel to work; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The aim of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to focus additional help with the extra costs of disability on people who become severely disabled earlier in life and who, as a consequence, face limited opportunities to work, earn and save compared with other people. Once PIP has been awarded, and subject to the conditions of entitlement continuing to be met, it can continue in payment after age 65. The upper age limit for PIP is currently aligned with State Pension age and will be rising in line with increases to it beginning from later this year.For people who become disabled after reaching pension age, Attendance Allowance (AA) can provide help with the extra costs of disability and helps them maintain their independence. AA is a tax-free, non-contributory benefit which can be used flexibly to help meet extra needs and is currently worth up to £85.60 a week.People who become disabled after their 65th birthday can apply for Access to Work and they will continue to be eligibility for support as long as they remain in employment.

Children: Maintenance

Alex Burghart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of paying parents using the Child Maintenance Service are (a) in employment and (b) not in employment.

Justin Tomlinson: The following table shows the volumes and proportions of paying parents on the Child Maintenance Service schemes in March 2018 that are employed, unemployed, or with an unknown employment status at the point of application.Employment StatusVolumeProportionEmployed297,40076.5%Unemployed16,5004.0%Unknown75,70019.5%Total 389,600 100%

Relationships Alliance

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will take steps to ensure that charities in the Relationships Alliance will be allocated funding from the public purse for existing relationship support contracts until funding allocations have been made under the Reducing Parental Conflict programme.

Justin Tomlinson: We are exploring options with respect to the next steps for the current contracts DWP hold with the Relationships Alliance. We are currently implementing the new Reducing Parental Conflict Programme, which aims to integrate proven help with parental conflict into local services. We will be offering support to all 152 top-tier English local authorities to help them - including making available funding to develop their strategic approach; and for training frontline practitioners. We have announced £6m of joint funding with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England, aimed at improving the outcomes of children of alcohol-dependent parents. This programme includes an Innovation Fund, which is seeking up to eight local authority bids, to address parents’ alcohol issues and reduce conflict. The closing dates for bids is 17 July. Funding is also available for the voluntary sector, where we are seeking to build capacity nationally to support children in families where parents are alcohol dependent and experiencing conflict. We expect to make announcements on the allocation of funding for these opportunities in the Autumn. And we will build the evidence base for what works to reduce parental conflict by commissioning face-to-face support in 30 local authorities across England. We recently published a Prior Information Notice which outlined the timescales for the upcoming procurement of face-to-face interventions. These contracts will be open to all interested parties as an open competition.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2018 to Question 155896 on Children: Day Care, for what reason she will not make that analysis available.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Insects

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the penetration of foreign insects into the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government undertakes systematic screening of pest and disease risks which may be introduced through trade. We carry out risk-based inspections at our borders to prevent the entry of such pests. Our inspectors are highly effective in comparison to their peers: the UK consistently makes more interceptions of harmful organisms than any other EU member state (around 40% of the total for the EU). We work to stop pests and diseases before they arrive through international surveillance to spot new risks, take action at the border with stringent biosecurity checks on plant imports, and have robust contingency plans to tackle the pests and diseases that do make it through.   The Asian Hornet poses a significant threat to native wildlife and is listed as a key species within the GB invasive non-native species strategy framework. As part of this, Defra devised a joint Asian Hornet contingency plan which is the only national scale contingency plan in the EU for an invasive species outside plant and animal health. Early detection is vitally important to the success of the plan. We have established an alert system which allows the public to report sightings which are then identified by the National Bee Unit (NBU). There is also a network of sentinel apiaries that carry out active surveillance for the species.

Moorland: Fires

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to restore the ecosystems on the moors in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) Lancashire after the recent fires in those areas.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is closely monitoring the environmental impact on the moors but it is too early to have a clear picture in terms of the severity or extent of the damage caused at this stage. Natural England is in contact with local landowners and land managers affected by both incidents and will work closely with them and the National Park Authority once the fires are out. We are on standby to arrange site visits and to begin assessing the damage and help with recovery.

Plastics: Waste

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to which countries the UK exports plastic waste.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of plastic waste exported by the UK for recycling.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of plastic waste the UK sends abroad for recycling.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs provide estimates of the amount of plastic waste exported overseas. The most recent estimate for 2017 was 661 kilo tonnes. The destination countries for UK waste exports in 2017 can be found using the following link: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/BuildYourOwnTables/Pages/Table.aspx

Horses: Databases

Gillian Keegan: To ask the the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the central equine database in reducing horse abandonment to date.

George Eustice: The Central Equine Database (CED) was launched on 8 March 2018. At this early stage, data is not available to make a formal assessment of its effectiveness in reducing horse abandonment. Defra laid the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 on 25 June. The regulations provide modern, effective enforcement tools to local authorities that, in combination with the CED and the powers under the Control of Horses Act 2015 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006, will help address the problem of horse abandonment. Furthermore, the regulations require that all equines in England are microchipped by 1 October 2020, except for recognised populations of semi-wild ponies. This will further help local authorities and the police to track down the owners of abandoned horses and make sure appropriate action is taken against them, and ensure their equines are given the care they deserve.

Food: Origin Marking

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on ensuring the protection of UK food products through a protected designation of origin scheme after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The Government is determined to ensure continued protection for UK Geographical Indications (GIs) after the UK leaves the EU. We will put in place new UK GI schemes by the time we leave the EU. The EU (Withdrawal) Act will convert EU rules into UK legislation. Regulations to amend those rules where necessary are being drafted and preparations for supporting infrastructure, such as guidance and a UK register, are also in hand.

Home Office

Electronic Tagging

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the merits of a GPS tagging system to alert victims if their convicted perpetrator came within a defined excluded area.

Victoria Atkins: The Domestic Abuse consultation closed on 31 May 2018. We are currently analysing over 3,200 responses, including information submitted by respondents about paired proximity tagging, which we will consider carefully over the coming months.

John Worboys

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints about John Worbouys were received by the police since 1990; and how many of those complaints (a) resulted in a prosecution and (b) were classed as undetected.

Mr Nick Hurd: The investigation of offences is an operational matter for the police. We do not hold centrally any information relating to complaints from alleged victims of John Worboys.

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 24 April 2018 from the Rt hon Member for Warley on knife sales.

Victoria Atkins: I responded to the Right Honourable Member for Warley on 5 July.

Visas: Skilled Workers

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to exclude strike action from limits on unpaid leave for tier-2 visa migrants.

Caroline Nokes: It is not the Government’s policy to prevent migrant workers from engaging in legal strike action. I am not aware of any case where a migrant worker has had their leave curtailed, or been removed, as a result of engaging in lawful industrial action.However, to put the matter beyond doubt, we will shortly be amending the guidance and Immigration Rules for Tier 2 and 5 migrants and their sponsors. This change will make clear that there will be no immigration consequences for any migrant worker who takes part in legal strike action.The guidance will be amended as soon as possible, and I will be amending the relevant Immigration Rule at the next available opportunity in the Autumn.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to publish the Government's cross-departmental alcohol strategy.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is currently working closely with a range of partners to develop a new alcohol strategy which we aim to publish early next year.

Alcoholic Drinks

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings his Department had with representatives of the alcohol industry in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018 to date.

Victoria Atkins: The Government considers it important to meet with all stakeholders in working to tackle alcohol-related harms. Home Office officials regularly meet with representatives of the alcohol industry. In developing a new alcohol strategy officials will continue to meet with representatives of the alcohol industry and with many other stakeholders.

Police: Travellers

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces use the 18+1 ethnic monitoring system that is inclusive of Gypsies and Irish Travellers; and when forces that do not use that system plan to do so.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Gypsy, (b) Roma and (c) Irish Traveller (i) police officers and (ii) civilian staff are employed in each police force in England and Wales.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects information from police forces in England and Wales though the Annual Data Requirement (ADR) under the Home Secretary’s statutory powers. A number of these data requests require police forces to provide detailed information on ethnicity, for example, the ethnicity of a person being stopped and searched, or arrested.The Home Office currently uses the 16+1 ethnic categories, as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the 2001 Census, in most data collections. For the 2011 Census, the ONS updated ethnicity categories to include ‘Gypsy, Traveller or Irish Traveller’ as a specific group. To reflect these changes and to gain a better understanding of police interactions with other ethnic minorities, work is underway with force IT leads to investigate a move to the newer 18+1 ethnic codes for the 2019/20 data collection period.The Home Office does not hold the information requested on the police workforce centrally. Data on the ethnicity of police officers and civilian staff are collected at the aggregated 5+1 level (White, Black, Asian, Mixed, Chinese and Other ethnic groups).Those from Gypsy, Roma, or Irish Traveller backgrounds will be included in the White totals, but cannot be separately identified. Data on the police workforce, as at 31 March 2017, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017The next instalment, covering the situation as at 31 March 2018, is scheduled for release on Thursday 19th July.

Police: Ethnic Groups

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department issues to police forces on their engagement with BAME communities.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department issues to police forces on their engagement with (a) Gypsy, (b) Roma and (c) Irish Traveller communities.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure a safe working environment for Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller police officers and staff.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to promote a positive relationship between the police and the Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller communities.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the June 2018 Traveller Movement report, Policing by consent: understanding and improving relations between Gypsies, Roma, Irish Travellers and the police.

Mr Nick Hurd: Equality and diversity are important. People across all communities want the police to fight crime while having confidence that their needs will be understood and respected.The Government’s landmark Race Disparity Audit makes it clear that whilst we have made significant progress across a range of measures relating to crime and policing, for many people from black and other minority ethnic backgrounds their experiences and expectations fall well short of what is acceptable. We are committed to reducing and eliminating these disparities through our continued reforms to policing.Decisions about frontline policing, how resources are best deployed, and the effective management of the workforce are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners. They are best placed to make decisions with their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs’ Council make it clear in the Policing Vision 2025 that that the link between communities and the police will continue to form the bedrock of British policing. The vision also highlights the increasing diversity and complexity of the communities police serve, and the need for more sophisticated responses to policing challenges.The National Police Chief’s Council has agreed a new Diversity, Equality and Inclusion strategy which is expected to be published in July. The strategy will be accompanied by three toolkits; on workforce representation; working with partner agencies; and working with diverse communities, which will provide operational advice to forces.The College of Policing, as the professional body, has published the Code of Ethics which includes a clear statement on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for all those working in policing. It also published guidelines on modernising neighbourhood policing in March 2018. This year’s HMICFRS effectiveness report recommended that forces review their approach by October 2018 against these standards.The Government takes the issue of police wellbeing very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers. In July 2017, the Home Secretary awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund over 3 years to pilot and, if it is successful, fund a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support.We await the publication of the final version of the Traveller Movement report which is expected to follow the summary report published in June and will work with policing partners to consider its findings.

Extradition

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were extradited from the UK to EU15 Member States in (a) 2003 and (b) 2017.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were extradited from EU15 Member States to the UK in (a) 2003 and (b) 2017.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time was between arrests for extradition and the surrender of people so arrested from the UK to EU15 countries in (a) 2003 and (b) 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the specific information requested.Statistics on the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) are published by the National Crime Agency each year. These figures include a breakdown of the numbers of individuals extradited from the UK by country.These figures are published at: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statisticsPrior to 2004, when the EAW was introduced, fewer than 60 individuals a year were extradited from the UK (this figure includes all countries, not just EU Member States).

European Arrest Warrants

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July to question 156611 on European Arrest Warrants, what the average time was between arrests for extradition and the surrender of people so arrested from the UK to (a) Norway and (b) Switzerland; and what comparative assessment he has made of (a) that average time and (b) the average time under the European Arrest Warrant.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the specific statistics requested.The UK’s position is that it is the interests of both the UK and the EU to continue the efficient and reliable operational capabilities provided by the European Arrest Warrant once the UK leaves the EU, and we are working with the EU and Member States to ensure that this is the case.The Government’s policy paper ‘Framework for the UK-EU Security Partnership’, published on 9 May 2018 sets out the value the UK judges the European Arrest Warrant provides.Outside of the EU, the UK enjoys good relations in respect of extradition with Norway and Switzerland, with timely extradition of individuals to and from the UK.

Refugees: Syria

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Yazidi, (b) Christian and (c) other religious or ethnic minority Syrian refugees have been resettled in the UK in each quarter since the start of 2016.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to support and resettle (a) Yazidi, (b) Christian and (c) other religious or ethnic minority Syrian refugees.

Caroline Nokes: In resettlement, the UK works according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality which means that we do not take into consideration the ethno-religious origins of people requiring assistance as we resettle solely on the basis of needs, identified by UNHCR through their established submission categories.We believe that one way to protect the privacy of those being resettled and ensure their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available. We therefore do not believe it is appropriate to publish a religious and ethnic breakdown of those who have been resettled.We are working with UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination and unaware of the safe space and options available to them. This includes all religious minorities.In all of the countries from which we resettle Syrian refugees, mobile registration teams, outreach teams, and Help Desks for areas where different minority groups are concentrated are used to facilitate registration and access to services. This is all part of an effort to facilitate registration for those refugees who for whatever reason cannot, or choose not, to access the main registration offices.

Migrant Workers: Shipping

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of the International Marine Contractors Association on the (a) operation and (b) effect of the Government’s immigration policies on the recruitment of non-EEA seafarers to work in the offshore (i) wind and (ii) decommissioning industries since January 2015.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with officials in the Department for Transport on the availability of UK seafarers to work on (a) construction and (b) maintenance projects in the offshore wind industry.

Caroline Nokes: Officials have met a range of stakeholders including representatives of the International Marine Contractors Association, in September 2017, to discuss the labour requirements of contractors operating in the offshore energy sector.

Immigration Controls

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has plans to simplify the eligibility criteria for the Registered Traveller scheme to (a) reduce the required frequency of travel and (b) remove the passenger fee.

Caroline Nokes: There are currently no plans to amend the Registered Traveller Service. However, we keep the service under regular review.

Scotland Office

Crime: Drugs

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on drug-related crime in Scotland.

David Mundell: I have regular discussions with the Home Secretary and other Cabinet colleagues on a number of matters. The UK Government’s approach to drugs remains clear - we must prevent drug use in our communities and support people through treatment and recovery. Combatting drug-related crime in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government, who we will continue to work closely with.

Industry: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues and Ministers of the Scottish Government on the effect of the UK Government’s industrial strategy on Scotland.

David Mundell: I have regular contact with Cabinet colleagues around the Industrial Strategy and how we can maximise the potential for Scotland. I have also had many conversations with Keith Brown regarding the industrial strategy and will continue to have such conversations with the relevant ministers in the newly formed Scottish Government Cabinet. The UK Government will continue to work collaboratively with the Scottish Government to maximise the potential of the Industrial Strategy in Scotland.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Redundancy

Ged Killen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2018 to Question 158812 on Civil Servants: Redundancy, what obligations the Government has to those people that left on a payment under the 2016 Civil Service Compensation Scheme terms.

Oliver Dowden: The Government has reviewed all exits under the 2016 Civil Service Compensation Scheme and where appropriate has made additional payments so that the same total amount has been paid as would have been under the 2010 Civil Service Compensation Scheme terms.

Local Government Association: National Democracy Week

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has with representatives of the Local Government Association in advance of the establishment of National Democracy Week.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office announced plans for a new National Democracy Week on International Democracy Day, 15 September 2017. We established a National Democracy Council to develop and deliver the week. The Council comprises leading electoral community group representatives, notably including SOLACE who represent Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers, as well as a range of civil society groups. Details of the Council are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-democracy-week-council-members By law, the work of Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers is separate from local authority functions and they are represented in the work they do by the Society of LA Chief Executives (SOLACE). Electoral Administration staff are represented by the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA). We engage with SOLACE and the AEA on a regular basis and not via other channels, such as the Local Government Association.

Prosperity Fund

Judith Cummins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the transparency of the trade-related aspects of the Prosperity Fund.

Mr David Lidington: I am replying as Chair of the National Security Council Sub Committee on the Cross Government Funds, which provides Ministerial oversight of the Prosperity Fund. We are committed to achieving an Aid Transparency Index (IATI) rating of “good” for the Prosperity Fund by 2020, as outlined in the 2015 UK Aid Strategy available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cross-government-prosperity-fund-programmesThe Fund can be accessed on GOV.UK since January 2016, and is kept updated along with quarterly core data and fully approved business cases. We published the Fund’s first annual report in December 2017 and will publish the second before the end of the year.

Prosperity Fund

Judith Cummins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Prosperity Fund in meeting its primary purpose.

Mr David Lidington: I am replying as Chair of the National Security Council Sub Committee on the Cross Government Funds, which provides Ministerial oversight of the Prosperity Fund. The Prosperity Fund is delivering on its primary purpose of promoting economic development in developing countries, including through improving financial resilience and creating the right conditions for sustainable growth. All overseas development assistance provided by the Prosperity Fund must meet the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s eligibility criteria and comply with the International Development Act 2002. The Prosperity Fund has appointed suppliers to provide robust Monitoring & Evaluation across the programme. They will provide rigorous evidence and assessment on the Fund’s primary development objectives. Early examples of outcomes and impacts can be found in the Fund’s Annual Reports, the first one of which was published in December 2017.

Government Departments: Procurement

Judith Cummins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that modern slavery does not take place within the Government's supply chains.

Oliver Dowden: The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery in both private and public sector supply chains. Since 1 October 2015, commercial organisations which have an annual turnover of £36 million or more have been required, under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year. The statement must set out the steps taken to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place within its own business or supply chains. The Government has published a Supplier Code of Conduct to make clear the standards and behaviours that are expected of our suppliers when they work with government and we will now develop proposals for the government’s biggest suppliers to publish data and provide action plans for how they plan to address key social issues, including the scourge of modern slavery. In addition, the Government’s Standard Selection Questionnaire includes Mandatory Exclusion Grounds if an organisation or an associated individual has been convicted of child labour and other forms of trafficking in human beings, within the last 5 years The Home Office and the Crown Commercial Service will be developing further guidance to support contracting authorities to identify, and mitigate against, modern slavery risks in supply chains.

Civil Servants: Parental Leave

Angela Crawley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of civil servants entitled to shared parental leave have taken such leave since it was introduced.

Oliver Dowden: My department does not hold this data centrally.

Intelligence Services: Detainees

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that there is public consultation on future changes to the Consolidated Guidance to Intelligence Officers and Service Personnel on the Detention and Interviewing of Detainees Overseas, and on the Passing and Receipt of Intelligence Relating to Detainees.

Mr David Lidington: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement of 28 June 2018 (HCWS808).

Former Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what severance payments have been made to each Minister who has resigned since June 2017.

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Rt Hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden is eligible for a severance payment as a result of his resignation from Government; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: Severance pay for Ministers is set out in the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. It can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/5/section/4

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to paragraphs 4.77- 4.79 of the report entitled The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund's aid spending: A performance review, published by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact in March 2018, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund increases global security.

Mr David Lidington: The Government is taking a series of measures to further increase the effectiveness of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) following the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s (ICAI) review. The reviewers praised the fund for being flexible and responsive to UK national security priorities, for demonstrating excellent conflict analysis and for mainstreaming gender equality and conflict sensitivity across programmes. Details are set out in the Government’s response to the Commission’s review, published on 10 May and available on GOV.UK. More detail about the CSSF’s wider work to improve global security will be in the Fund’s 2017-18 Annual Report, to be published this month.

Census

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to publish its White Paper on the content of the 2021 census.

Chloe Smith: The White Paper on the content and conduct of the 2021 Census will be published later in 2018.

Department for International Trade

Trade Remedies Authority

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what criteria his Department used for its decision to base the UK Trade Remedies Authority in Reading.

George Hollingbery: A number of factors were taken into account in deciding the location of the Trade Remedies Authority and a full assessment was carried out, according to Cabinet Office guidance. The availability of candidates with the required qualifications and experience was critical in deciding where to locate the Trade Remedies Authority. Reading has one of the highest concentrations of relevant qualifications and experience in the country. Another important criterion was transport links. This was balanced with the requirement to adhere to the 2017 Conservative Party Manifesto Commitment to locate arm’s length bodies out of London.

Cocoa: Fairtrade Initiative

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with representatives of Governments of cocoa producing countries on the introduction of fair trade policies for cocoa producers.

George Hollingbery: The UK remains committed to free and fair trade, and using trade to promote global development and poverty reduction. As the UK leaves the European Union, our first priority is to ensure continuity in our trading relationships, including cocoa producers. This includes discussions with the likes of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire about replicating the effects of the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to continue to provide duty-free access to the UK for products including cocoa. The Government has also committed to continue to unilaterally provide preferential market access to around 70 other developing countries including some that produce cocoa. In the future, we will look to further deepen our trading relationships with these partners.

Prosperity Fund

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with (i) UK and (ii) international businesses on the Prosperity Fund since 2015.

George Hollingbery: My Rt. Hon. Friend for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands), the former Minister of State for Trade Policy and my Noble Friend, the Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion (Baroness Fairhead) hosted a roundtable discussion at the Prosperity Fund Business Forum on 20 June 2018 which was attended by UK businesses only. My Rt. Hon. Friend for Chelsea and Fulham also spoke at a wider session at the Business Forum to UK businesses. His speech can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/greg-hands-the-best-and-most-sustainable-way-out-of-poverty-is-through-trade . DIT Ministers regularly meet with businesses to promote UK exports and signpost UK businesses to international opportunities, including opportunities created by the Prosperity Fund.

Prosperity Fund

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Prosperity Fund expenditure by his Department meets the legal basis for ODA spending as set out in the International Development Act 2002.

George Hollingbery: The legal underpinning of the Prosperity Fund is the International Development Act (2002). Activity supported by the fund is primarily focussed on achieving growth outcomes for the partner country and the design of any potential Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending through the fund must meet this requirement. The Department for International Trade does not at present spend Prosperity Fund money, however should the Department start spending ODA, it will follow legal advice to ensure it meets the stipulations of the act.

Trade Promotion

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, by what criteria the Prime Minister’s trade envoys are appointed.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to the public purse has been of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy scheme to date.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what process is in place to assess the (a) performance and b) value for money of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys.

Graham Stuart: Decisions on the appointment of Trade Envoys are made by the Prime Minister. Trade Envoys are parliamentarians drawn from across the political spectrum and both Houses. Trade Envoys are appointed to engage with one or more emerging markets where the Department for International Trade (DIT) has identified substantial trade and investment opportunities and where there is a need for high level engagement to drive these forward. Since the programme was launched in 2012 the cumulative cost has been £676,691. This is a non-paid voluntary role and these costs relate to travel and subsistence for the role. Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are asked to report back to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade after each visit they undertake in the role. DIT teams based in the Trade Envoy markets, also collate any business successes the Trade Envoys have been involved with, which is reported back on a quarterly basis. In 16/17 Trade Envoys contributed towards £15.5bn in export wins in their markets.

Trade Agreements

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, through what mechanisms businesses will be able to (a) contribute directly to and (b) influence future trade negotiations.

George Hollingbery: The Department for International Trade has consulted widely since the EU referendum with a broad range of stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, devolved administrations, civil society and consumers across the UK. Means of engagement have included townhall meetings, roundtable discussions, webinars, written consultations and bilateral meetings.The Department for International Trade will shortly be announcing how it intends to engage with a wide range of groups as we take our future trade negotiations forward.

Department for International Trade: Serco

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many current contracts his Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.

George Hollingbery: The Department for International Trade does not have any contracts with Serco.

UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the Defence and Security Organisation core markets are for 2018-19; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The Department for International Trade, Defence and Security Organisation has identified the following core markets for 2018-19 with defence and security opportunities:Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Canada France Germany India IndonesiaItaly (lead for Mediterranean Defence Network Defence includes Spain & Portugal)Japan Kuwait Latin America (Columbia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Panama, Argentina, Mexico)MalaysiaNew Zealand NetherlandsNorth Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt) Oman PhilippinesPoland (within Central European Network and including Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria) Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Angola) Sweden (lead for Nordic Baltic Network including Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia) Switzerland Thailand Turkey United Arab Emirates United States of America

Visits Abroad: Gulf States

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whom he met during his visit of 26-28 May 2018 to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade visited Bahrain and UAE in order to promote UK trade and investment as we prepare to leave the EU, and to demonstrate the UK’s commitment to partner with them on their ambitious diversification plans, with the UAE being the UK’s 4th largest export partner outside of the EU.In Bahrain, the Secretary of State met with HRH the Crown Prince of Bahrain, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications, the Minister for Oil, and the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism. He also met with Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat.In the UAE, the Secretary of State met with HRH the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Mubadala Investment Company, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Football: World Cup

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department is putting in place to mark the homecoming of the England football team from the World Cup.

Tracey Crouch: England can be rightly proud of their performance in the World Cup competition. We will look to celebrate their achievements at a suitable time in the future.

Big Lottery Fund: Grants

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many applications for Big Lottery funding that were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful were received from (i) the Gillingham and Rainham constituency, (ii) Medway and (iii) the UK in each of the last five years.

Tracey Crouch: The number of applications and awards made in (i) Gillingham and Rainham, (ii) Medway and (iii) the UK over each of the last five financial years were as follows: Gillingham and Rainham Financial YearApplicationsAwards2013-201424172014-201519122015-201616112016-201728182017-20182012TOTAL10770   Medway Financial YearApplicationsAwards2013-201456312014-201553362015-201651262016-201770432017-20187033TOTAL300169 UK-wide Financial YearApplicationsAwards2013-201423,17813,1392014-201521,26413,0592015-201621,25011,8222016-201724,00013,7132017-201820,55011,037TOTAL110,24262,770  Big Lottery Fund assigns applications and awards by primary project location - where the project is delivered from, rather than beneficiary location or where their beneficiaries live. As such, it is likely that people living in (i) Gillingham and Rainham and (ii) Medway have also benefited from awards assigned to other locations over the past five financial years.

Youth Services

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has a working definition of youth participation in relation to decision-making on youth services; and what steps his Department has taken to promote youth participation in such decisions.

Tracey Crouch: Responsibility for the provision of local youth services lies with local authorities. Many local authorities have youth participation functions, including youth councils, and there are youth service models, such as mutuals, which offer young people a major role in the design and delivery of services. Nationally, DCMS provides funding to the British Youth Council to run the UK Youth Parliament and other youth voice activities, where young people can have their say about a range of issues. We also actively seek to involve young people in the design and delivery of programmes, such as the Youth Investment Fund and recently involved young people in the consultation of the forthcoming Civil Society Strategy.

Markets: Woolwich

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for his final decision on whether the former covered market, Woolwich, should be added to the National Heritage List for England.

Michael Ellis: Requests for buildings to be considered for ‘listing’ under the terms of the Planning Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Act 1990 are received by Historic England. Historic England assesses such requests before providing its recommendations to the Secretary of State. We understand that Historic England has received such a request in relation to the former covered market in Woolwich, and that it hopes to submit its recommendation shortly. Once this has been received, the building’s claims to special architectural or historic interest will be considered in line with the Secretary of State’s Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings. Most listing cases are determined within 10 working days, complex or high profile cases within eight weeks.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Staff

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many staff in each House of Commons team are (a) female and (b) BAME.

Tom Brake: The total number of employees in the House of Commons is 2,334. Below is the number of females in each House of Commons team and the number who have declared themselves as being from a BAME background:  Team Female Total Female % BAME Total BAME % Chamber and Committees25251%5010% Corporate Services 112 69% 55 34% In-House Services 203 35% 159 28% Participation 156 58% 31 12% Research and information 112 53% 20 10% Security 120 30% 126 31% Strategic Estates 66 51% 32 25% Speakers Office / Communications / Governance Office 38 58% 9 15% Total 105945%48221%

Prime Minister

Detainees: Inhuman Treatment

Kate Osamor: To ask the Prime Minister, if the Government will take steps to establish an independent public inquiry into UK complicity in torture and rendition.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Europe and the Americas, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan) to my right hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Kenneth Clarke) on 2 July 2018 (Volume 644, Column 26).